Most skippers will know where the bitter end is on their vessels, it is the link or coupling from the end of your chain to the vessel. Maintenance on your chain is of vital importance, be sure to stack your chain and keep it fish oiled to limit corrosion. There will be times when you […]

Of all the great men of the sea, maybe the legendary hard hat Peal Diver was the greatest of all. No greater risk could be taken for a reward so remote of the elusive pearl and the wages of mistakes was death. The area was renowned for cyclones and in 1887 on the Eighty Mile […]

The classical old Bob Dylan song holds true today as the times, vessels and their masters and crews change completely from the older days gone by, no longer the hardened usually unkept fishing skipper barking orders from an antiquated wheelhouse barely big enough to swing a dead cat as the vessel skims across a reef […]

NO water, NO keel,mega weight,huge windage,strong tide,under powered thrusters, 32 cars, 14 trucks, 312 pax…and man Iv’e got a headache! How do you handle a large vessel of 770 GRT 70mtr length and packed to the gunwhales with unpredictable cargo? Having spent considerable time as Master of these vessels, the number 1 rule I can […]

The Plimsoll line or International Load Line is designed to make sure the vessel has enough free board to operate in it’s designated waters. It was invented by Samuel Plimsoll in 1870. The vessel must have the correct buoyancy and center point of gravity to operate efficiently and safely. Water density and ocean conditions change […]

A main source of annoyance for many Captains of vessels is the dreaded ‘Weekend Warrior’. You know the ones, esky full of beer and bait, no food, no manners and no rules. This is a highly volatile situation if not handled correctly. Many Captains have come to realize that the argument will never be won […]

Masters and Crew: Be advised. Scam Alert: One of the latest email and ‘Letter of Offer’ to do the rounds. Location: India Pitch: Everything for nothing just pay to get your ‘Affidavit of Guarantee’ Host: Exxon Mobil (being used without knowledge) Exxon Mobil is one of the great company’s of the energy world. Presently there […]

Ships Tonnage Explained Deadweight/ Cargo/ Gross/ Net/ Displacement. Vesselpilots must at all times be acutely aware of where and how weight is positioned on his/her vessel. This article may assist in both explaining and clarifying the different weights terminology. There are five kinds of tonnage used in shipping. 1. Deadweight 2. Cargo 3. Gross 4. […]

Platform Support Vessel’s (PSV’s) as the name suggests supply oil rigs with ‘everything’ from crew to cargo and everything in between. Vessel Pilots mus be very experienced and have a high skill set in vessel handling as conditions and safety issues are all number one priority.

MV Quandamooka stern to at Cleveland landing. Landing a vessel of this size,weight and windage is an extremely difficult job, then put less than a metre of water under a no to little keel vessel, add 1000 gross tons, 400 souls and you can see the huge responsibility of Mastering these and any other vessel […]